Master of Engineering (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Integrated placement year)

at Aston University United Kingdom

Quantity surveyors manage the commercial aspects of construction and civil engineering projects, from the initial calculations to the final figures. Their aim is to minimise costs and enhance value for money, delivering projects to the required quality and on time.

Our Quantity Surveying programme, which is part of the civil engineering and infrastructure cluster here at Aston, examines the economic and operational issues related to the construction industry.

What you’ll learn
On our course you’ll gain a working knowledge of the techniques, and an understanding of the skills, required by quantity surveyors and commercial managers within the construction industry. With sustainable construction methods and technology at the centre of your learning, you’ll also learn about cost planning and estimating, scheduling projects and building engineering and management.

In addition, as you’ll be learning and living in the middle of Britain’s second city, you’ll gain invaluable, real-life experience of the challenges and opportunities faced by the people and organisations responsible for developing our built environment. To help bring this to life there will be regular opportunities for engagement with local projects through a series of guest lectures, site visits and real-life projects.

Study a BSc (Hons) Economics and Politics degree course at Aston University and tackle some of the most challenging, controversial and real-world issues facing governments, business and the wider society today.

What you’ll learn
On this degree course, you’ll have the opportunity to explore political topics going beyond the UK and Europe, covering North America, South Asia, China, Japan or the emerging global powers. You will acquire the ability to analyse and understand political problems, socio-cultural change and political institutions and structures.

On the economics side, you’ll develop an ability to investigate a range of political and economic issues, and gain a sound understanding of how economic and political issues are often closely interrelated in today’s globalised mass society. You’ll become familiar with a range of tools needed to solve a variety of complex economic problems, and develop research and analytical skills, equipping you with highly relevant, adaptable skills that are transferable across whatever career path you choose.

An integrated placement year offers the chance to apply your learning in a work placement in the UK or overseas. Whether you choose to focus on politics or economics, Aston’s strong links with employers around the world mean you will have a wide range of options to boost your employability and explore the world of work. Unlike some other universities, the placement year at Aston is not a ‘bolt-on’ year, it is an integral part of your degree and in your second year we’ll make sure you’re ready to get the most from this opportunity. You'll receive plenty of help and advice in finding your placement and specialist support and supervision from the University during your placement.

You will also have the opportunity to produce a substantial piece of individual work in the form of a dissertation on an agreed topic of your choice.

Get a head start in business and examine the major issues facing governments across the world, from terrorism to climate change, with an inter-disciplinary Business and Politics BSc degree course from Aston University.

What you’ll learn
You’ll study the theories, principles, and underlying concepts of the main functions of management and develop a strong understanding of business models and processes. You’ll examine how strategic decision-making within organizations takes place, and develop the ability to recognize and analyze the economic, technical, financial, social, and organizational parameters within which modern managers make decisions, providing you with a solid starting point for your future career.

On the politics strand of the course, you will have the unique opportunity to explore political topics going beyond the UK and Europe, covering North America, South Asia, China, Japan, or the emerging global powers. You will not only study the traditional subjects of the discipline, such as security, political economy, or democratization but also have the chance to delve into ethics, sports, gender, protest, or religion.

Study Design Engineering at Aston to advance your creative skills and transform your ideas into reality, as you help to address global challenges for generations to come.

What you’ll learn
Our course introduces a full range of core engineering science modules coupled to practical projects, ensuring a highly integrated and industry-relevant degree program.

From your first year, you'll be working on major projects, often in partnership with commercial engineering companies. You’ll work with colleagues, staff, and engineers from the industry to develop real solutions to life problems.

You’ll look at key areas such as design, prototyping, and developing ideas, as well as the engineering science and mathematics behind these subjects. Specialist modules in areas such as control systems and solid mechanics will make sure your technical skill set is excellent and ready for application in any engineering sector.

Explore the social structures and issues that have shaped your own life and learn not just how to understand the world, but how to change it. Understand some of the biggest debates in society and develop the skills you need to research what matters to you.

What you’ll learn
Sociology and Social Policy at Aston are about real-life experiences and how they relate to bigger social problems. We explore the social constraints we encounter in our everyday lives and how they are reinforced by class, race, religion, and gender. To understand how these issues perpetuate existing inequalities and unequal life chances, we analyze what impact official politics has on such processes, how politics is intertwined with the profit-making aims pursued by big corporations and how their combined interests dominate our social imaginations.

You will investigate the economic, social, and political forces which influence government decision-making and develop a detailed understanding of policy-making processes at global, national and local levels of government. You will also explore in-depth, the outcomes and consequences of various government policies on the economy and society. Studying the nature of policy delivery and management by various organizations, such as local governments, schools, and businesses, will prepare you for a range of career paths.

A unique combination of strategy, management consulting, and international business, our MSc Strategy and International Business can kick-start your career.
This course will equip you with the skills to analyze companies’ strategic situations and develop practical strategic solutions for complex commercial problems. You’ll learn the vital role middle managers play in implementing strategy and how you can make strategy work in practice.

With the rise of social media, the threat of cyber-attacks, appearance of pandemics e.g. Covid-19, and the impact of climate change on natural disasters, there has never been a more pressing time for organisations to establish effective crisis and disaster management strategies and to deploy the appropriate skills to handle them.

Our Crisis and Disaster Management MSc will give you a solid understanding of the core approaches to manage crises and disasters (such as Covid-19 and other similar ones) and of the wider impact on stakeholders, including the implications of mismanaged situations through relevant case studies, discussions and exercises. In the second semester you will also advance your knowledge in either the humanitarian stream or business crisis stream, helping you to progress your learning and career path in the area that interests you most. 

There has never been a time where so much data has been available in conjunction with the tools to make the most of it. These tools constitute the field of data science. There has also never been a time with so many global challenges to tackle, from the shortage of resource and the impact we have on the environment to the strive to automate and optimise a variety of systems such as transport, energy, health and communication. There are almost limitless opportunities to use these tools in the various domains and applications for making real impact on industry, society and policy making.

This course is for you if you want to use your mathematical and numerical skills to embark on a career in data science and its application. During the course you will develop the necessary analytical and computational skills alongside an informed and critical appreciation of scientific and industrial developments in data.

What you’ll learn 

You will gain a thorough grounding in the fundamental concepts of data analytics to understand the data lifecycle, including problem formulation, data collection and cleaning, exploratory data analysis and visualisation, statistical inference and decision making. Additionally, you will have the chance to apply your knowledge in a research project on a subject of your choice.

You will be trained in a wide range of modern data science and analytics methods in the MSc in Data Analytics programme including the following modules:

Statistical Machine Learning, where you will be able to develop simple, but practical, statistical models for complex real-world data. The models can be used to automate decision making and predictions, such as detecting diseases or deciphering signals.

Algorithmic and Computational Mathematics that focuses on the in-depth study of key general algorithms, with their numerical implementation, which are the heart of data processing and modelling. This includes approximation techniques, interpolation, sampling, etc. that are practiced with hands-on coding.

Data Science Programming will teach you the use of Python and R for data analysis in scientific computing. You will learn how to use Python libraries such as: (i) NumPy and Pandas, for performing complex numerical analysis tasks; (ii) Scikit Learn, to build machine learning models; (iii) Matplotlib and R for 2D data visualisations and (iv) PyTorch, to develop deep learning applications.

Mechanical engineers are innovators, building machines, structures and devices of all sizes and for all uses. Study Mechanical Engineering at Aston and we’ll equip you with the tools you need to bring your ideas to life, helping to solve the world’s problems for generations to come. Our Mechanical Engineering degree course offers highly relevant modules in sought-after engineering and scientific subjects.?It is driven by the demands of industry to produce graduates with extremely strong engineering and scientific skills. We also support you to develop strong project management and teamwork skills, as well as commercial awareness.

What you’ll learn
In your first year, you’ll cover fundamental disciplines of mechanical engineering, through academic classes in engineering, science, and maths. You’ll also take on large, integrated projects in practical settings, and we’ll help you to understand new technology and concepts. The course reflects industry practice, as you work in groups to take products from initial concepts through to built and tested prototypes.

During your second year, you’ll begin to develop the skills and technical knowledge you need to become a professional engineer. Then, in your third year, you’ll undertake a major project, involving design, experimental or analytical work that can be tailored to suit your own interests or to suit your target vocation.?

If you choose to spend a year in industry during your degree, we’ll support you to find a paid, professional placement of direct relevance to your studies. This placement will give you invaluable practical experience in a real work environment and will further enhance your career prospects.

In the final year, you will study advanced-level science and applied maths and exploit this knowledge in a major project, involving design, experimental or analytical work. This allows you to demonstrate your skills, knowledge, and abilities to potential employers through independently tackling a significant engineering challenge.

When you study economics at Aston, you will be looking at some of the most challenging and controversial issues facing society today, including the gender pay gap and how human behaviour is linked to global warming.

What you’ll learn
You will learn about economic theories and build on your analytical and mathematical skills in order to understand how economics is used to solve a breadth of issues in business and wider society.

You’ll learn about the principles of micro and macroeconomics, mathematics and statistics in economics, econometrics and competition policy, as well select modules to tailor your learning to your areas of interest.

Through case studies, real-world examples and challenges, you’ll explore economics in an applied context and your placement year gives you an opportunity to develop your employability skills.